Not only had Yu Jin dispatched people to keep an eye on the Wumiao grandmother and grandchild who opened a shop on West Market Street, but Jiang Si had also instructed A-Fei to pay close attention.

A few days ago, perhaps unable to wait any longer for a letter from the Wumiao side, the old woman finally made a move, attempting to contact someone in the palace.

In Jiang Si’s view, since the other party could no longer contain themselves and had started making contact, it was only a matter of time before the Wumiao woman hidden in the palace would surface.

The Wumiao woman’s crimes were not small; at the very least, she was the culprit who had instigated Imperial Consort Chen to poison Princess Fuqing and the Fifteenth Princess. She had undoubtedly become a malignant tumor in the hearts of the Emperor and Empress, one they wished to excise as soon as possible.

How this person had entered the palace in the first place was certainly connected to Princess Rongyang. Once this person was exposed, Princess Rongyang would have no chance of escaping unscathed.

Upon returning to Prince Yan’s mansion, Jiang Si met with Yu Jin.

“Has Imperial Consort Xian given you any trouble in the palace?” Yu Jin asked.

Jiang Si smiled and said, “Now that I’m with child, even if she wants to cause trouble, she can only hold back for now. But an unexpected event has occurred.”

“What happened?”

“The Princess Consort of Qi has been diagnosed as pregnant by the Imperial Physician.”

Yu Jin raised his eyebrows and said coolly, “Then the Fourth Prince has good luck.”

These days, he had been watching the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi compete openly and covertly as if watching a play.

“The situation was evenly matched before, but now he will have the upper hand,” Jiang Si remarked.

“Perhaps,” Jiang Si said, somewhat uncertainly, thinking about the Princess Consort of Qi’s pregnancy.

Today, after being in close contact with the Princess Consort of Qi at Yuquan Palace, the parasitic worms in her body sensed something unusual about the Princess Consort. Based on her own pregnancy experience, it was the aura of a life being nurtured within.

She had indeed been certain about the Princess Consort of Qi’s pregnancy, which was why she had said those words to silence Imperial Consort Xian.

However, in her previous life, when she became the Princess Consort of Yan and returned from the Southern Frontier, this child of the Princess Consort of Qi did not exist.

At that time, the Princess Consort of Qi still had only one daughter and was worried about the Prince of Qi having no son.

In other words, the Princess Consort of Qi had not been able to keep this child…

Thinking about Imperial Consort Xian’s uncontainable joy and the Princess Consort of Qi’s tears of happiness today, Jiang Si let out a soft sigh.

No matter how much of a grudge she had against the Princess Consort of Qi, she would never harm someone else’s child. It could only be said that someone as venomous as the Princess Consort of Qi did not have the blessing to keep the child.

Yu Jin embraced Jiang Si and said with a smile, “As long as it doesn’t involve us, let them fight amongst themselves like dogs.”

If it did involve him and A-Si, then they shouldn’t blame him for being merciless.

The Princess Consort of Qi returned to the prince’s mansion, unable to hide her elation. “Where is the Prince?” she asked.

“The Prince is in the study.”

“Please ask the Prince to come to the main courtyard.”

Upon receiving the maid’s message, the Prince of Qi quickly frowned before heading towards the main courtyard.

The maids standing at the door of the room bowed in greeting when they saw the Prince of Qi arrive, unable to hide the joy in their expressions.

The Prince of Qi was a perceptive person. As soon as he entered the room, he asked, “Is there something to be happy about?”

The Princess Consort of Qi dismissed the attending servants, her face slightly flushed. “There is indeed good news for the Prince to know.”

“Tell me, what is it?” The Prince of Qi sat down opposite the Princess Consort.

“Today in the palace, I felt unwell. Mother Consort had the Imperial Physician examine me, and he detected a pulse of joy…”

The Prince of Qi suddenly sat upright, his face full of astonishment. “What?”

The Princess Consort of Qi looked at the Prince of Qi with a smile. “My Prince, I am with child.”

“Is it true?” The Prince of Qi grabbed the Princess Consort’s hand, overjoyed and unable to contain his laughter.

Heaven truly was helping him!

When the joyous news from the Prince of Qi’s mansion reached the Crown Prince’s mansion, the Crown Prince, behind closed doors, directly smashed the table.

The Crown Princess had a gentle disposition. She silently took out a handkerchief to wipe the water that had splashed onto the Crown Prince’s clothes.

The Crown Prince impatiently waved away the Crown Princess’s hand. “Stop wiping, I’ll change later.”

The Crown Princess gently advised, “Why should my Prince be angry? Our Fu’er is already six years old, while the child in the Princess Consort of Qi’s belly is still just flesh and blood. We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl. Even if it’s a boy when born, it won’t change much.”

“You don’t understand—” The Crown Prince said, then sighed and held the Crown Princess’s hand, muttering, “It’s because my mother was just a palace maid, I was born a step behind my other brothers…”

The Crown Princess leaned closer, her tone filled with sympathy. “My Prince, I think we’re quite well off as we are. Our children are lovely, and we have a harmonious marriage. There’s no need to think about those things…”

Although the Crown Prince didn’t agree with the Crown Princess’s words, his tone became much gentler. “If the Second Brother hadn’t been deposed, I naturally wouldn’t have such inappropriate thoughts. But now that the Second Brother has been re-titled as the Prince of Jing, the position of Crown Prince is vacant. With no legitimate heir, why can’t I compete for it?”

As the Crown Princess was about to speak again, the Crown Prince let out a deep sigh. “Do you think I can choose not to compete at a time like this? Countless people are pushing me to compete from behind. If I don’t compete, I’ll fall even harder.”

If he were to lose the competition, it would mean destruction.

With a loving wife and young children, and being a son of the dragon himself, he was determined to compete, and he had to win.

“No matter what, I will always support you, my Prince,” the Crown Princess said softly, leaning on the Crown Prince’s shoulder, though her eyes held a trace of bewilderment.

That day, rewards from the palace flowed endlessly towards the Prince of Qi’s mansion.

After giving birth to a daughter, the Princess Consort of Qi’s womb had been quiet for many years. Those concubines brought in to bear children for the Prince of Qi had successively given birth to several daughters. In a few more years, the number of the Prince of Qi’s daughters might exceed the number of princesses.

Now that the Princess Consort of Qi was pregnant again, it was indeed a cause for great celebration.

“Father Emperor rewarded the Princess Consort of Qi with a jade ruyi scepter?” The Crown Prince, upon hearing the news, forcefully snapped a brush in half.

A jade ruyi scepter—was this wishing for the Princess Consort of Qi to give birth to a child as she desired, or for the Fourth Brother to have his wishes fulfilled?

This wouldn’t do. The child in the Princess Consort of Qi’s belly absolutely couldn’t be allowed to stay.

There was still too much time before the Princess Consort of Qi would give birth, and during this period, because of her pregnancy, Father Emperor would certainly favor the Fourth Brother.

Being suppressed by the Fourth Brother for nearly a year was enough time for him to accumulate sufficient power to keep him down. By then, even if the Princess Consort of Qi gave birth to a girl, it wouldn’t change anything.

He couldn’t just sit and wait for his doom.

The undercurrents between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi didn’t affect Yu Jin.

With the Princess Consort of Qi’s pregnancy, the Prince of Qi’s efforts to win Yu Jin over seemed to have temporarily slowed down.

Yu Jin enjoyed the peace, apart from his routine visits to the government office, he spent most of his time accompanying Jiang Si. After a few comfortable days like this, a palace eunuch suddenly arrived to summon him to the palace.

Although Yu Jin didn’t understand why he was being summoned to the palace out of the blue, he remained outwardly calm. Entering the Imperial Study, he greeted Emperor Jingming loudly and stood quietly.

Emperor Jingming put down his scroll and glanced at Yu Jin.

“The government offices will soon be sealed for the holidays. You must have been quite idle these days?”

Yu Jin was somewhat puzzled but vaguely agreed.

What could a prince do if not idle, unless he was bustling about like the Third and Fourth Princes?

“It’s good to have some idle time,” Emperor Jingming said softly, then became serious. “Since you’re free anyway, there’s a matter that I want you to handle.”

“Please instruct me, Father Emperor.”